Some Work From 2022

Here is a small sample of some of the types of work we did in 2022 besides the typical maintenance :)

This starter motor worked (miraculously) but made a terrible sound - look at all the rust upon disassembly. We cleaned and polished everything, lubricated the bearings and it worked silently after that. A surprisingly common problem - in our experience, most starter motors don't fail from damage, but from a buildup of dust or corrosion that impedes the current flow.

Here we have a bad TCI unit from a Yamaha Virago. It is very difficult to diagnose that these have failed, so typically we test everything else and then once those variables are eliminated we try swapping the TCI. The symptoms are typically no spark or a very weak spark. This one was quite obvious though once we cut it open, with the melted resistors and capacitors.

This is a bad charging rotor from a BMW airhead. They are also similar to the 70s and 80s Honda rotors on the CB550, CB750, etc. Typically they fail in a way that lowers the internal resistance, which makes the electromagnet weaker and hence lower charging voltage. For most of them you want a resistance reading of 5-7 ohms, but it does vary so check your manual.

Here is a small front fork brace we made for a custom tracker project. We have all the equipment to do fabrication projects like this. In the past year we've made fenders, battery boxes, seat pans and rear hoops for several custom bikes.

Honda FL250 Odyssey Lighting Coil Mod For Charging Battery

The Odyssey that we worked on had the Goki Electric Starting kit added, probably many years previously. Electric starters need a battery, and the FL250 had nothing setup to charge the battery needed for powering the electric starter...so we had to figure out how to add that.

 

The Odyssey 250 is actually an AC system, including an AC ignition coil and AC lighting. Since the original did not have a battery, there was no need to convert any of that energy to DC. Unfortunately, this also led the engineers to save some wire and use the frame as the 2nd leg of the AC circuit. But....that single-wire AC made it quite tricky to make a charging system for the battery setup. 

Scouring internet forums and consulting various Honda wiring diagrams, we decided that the best solution for good charging of the battery is to use the lighting coil as the charging circuit, but the coil needs to be modified so it has 2 wires instead of only the existing single wire AC.  That way, the power from the lighting coil can be run through a voltage rectifier and converted into DC for the battery.

This shows where the original lighting coil winding was attached to the magneto plate. Remove this screw and cut off the copper wire from the terminal beneath.

This is the copper wire that is the end of the lighting coil winding, ready to be soldered to a wire and run out of the engine case. Remember to use heat shrink or another insulator to prevent the wire from touching anything else in the case.

Here you can see the wire soldered and wrapped with heatshrink so that it is no longer in continuity with any metal from the engine. This way it can be run, with the other existing lighting coil wire, into a 4-wire DC voltage rectifier (2 AC wires in, a power and ground DC out). We used one from a Honda CB350 and got a charging voltage of 13.7-13.8v, enough to recharge the battery after using the electric start.

Here you see the modified coil on the magneto plate, about to be bolted back into the engine. The lighting coil is the copper colored coil, the other large coil is for the igntion and the small coil is the pickup for the electronic ignition. 

One other thing to keep in mind: we kept the original AC taillight, so that the taillight is on when the Odyssey is running and turns off with the engine (since there is no keyswitch), To do this, simply make a 3-way connection in the wiring from the lighting coil and have one branch go to the light and the other to the rectifier. Hope this helps, good luck!

Honda FL250 Odyssey Variator Rebuild

 

Here are some photos of our recent rebuild of this 1982 Honda FL250 Odyssesy variator pulley, an early version of the style used on many modern scooters and even cars these days. Photos of this process seem pretty scarce out there so hopefully this helps!

The old variator assembly after removing the outer bell housing - notice the roller arms are flopping because the springs for these two rollers were broken - only 1 functional roller was left! Also, you do need an especially long puller to remove the variator from the driveshaft - the one we used was about 6" long

Each variator roller is held in by an M6 bolt with an M10 head, which is also held by a locking tab. We were able to use a large flathead screwdriver inserted through the center of the roller to bend it back and access the locking tab and bolt to remove them.

New rollers installed! We assembled each one completely with both springs, then levered each spring forward onto the roller arm. We used a spring puller to pull the end up, then a flathead behind the spring to hold it while using another flathead to slide it over onto the roller where it holds in place. Notice how the new rollers are holding firmly agains the central spindle now. When the engine is turning, centrifugal force has to overcome the springs on the rollers and thus spread the cones farther apart, so the drive belt falls lower - this is how it changes the gear ratio as you accelerate :)

Everything back together! And with the bell housing cleaned off you can actually see the manufacturers stamp on the retaining band. These were originally made in the USA by Salisbury for Honda.

We're Back! Unveiling Our New Shop in Millvale

 After a long and winding road, and a year working with Nice Bikes in Bloomfield, we're thrilled to announce that we're opening an expanded shop at a former cabinetry and glass block warehouse in Millvale.  For the next few months we will be open by appointment only as we continue to build out the shop and prepare for riding season, so please get in touch if you have a vintage ride that needs work and we can put you on the schedule.

Here is the address for our new shop:  531 Evergreen Avenue, Pittsburgh PA 15209

You can reach us by phone at 412.294.8666 or email slagheapcycles@gmail.com 

See what's going on in the shop through our Instagram @slagheapcycles

Closed For 2019 Season

Dear Friends and Customers,

Slagheap Cycles will be closed for the 2019 season. I'll be spending most of the year in California learning some new skills. After that, it is unlikely that we'll re-open for general service and maintenance, but will most likely go in a new direction with the shop. I'm sorry that we won't be able to help you with your bikes this year, and am grateful to all of you for your loyal use of our shop. Thank you for a good six years.

Sincerely,

Geoffrey

Slagheap Cycles
slagheapcycles@gmail.com

Rare Bike For Sale

Here we have a 1967 Honda CL77 305 Scrambler, the high performance and rarest version of the venerable Honda Dream. This version is twin carb and kickstart only, but it is still a 12 volt electric system, so you get decent lighting and better battery choices.

We've completely rebuilt the motor, and everything on the bike has been disassembled, refurbished or replaced, and reassembled. The bike came in with 13333 original miles and has *7* miles on a freshly rebuilt motor.

Here's a list of all the work that has been performed:

* engine sandblasted and painted
* top end bored .50 oversize w/new pistons, rings, etc.
* valves lapped and new valve stem seals
* all new oil seals and gaskets
* new clutch plates and springs
* transmission and kickstart mechanisms rebuilt, lubed and adjusted
* new fork seals and fork oil
* carburetors rebuilt
* new enduro-style tires
* new ignition switch w/2 keys
* new modern voltage regulator/rectifier
* new lithium-ion battery
* new seat cover
* most body parts sandblasted, aluminum polished w/vapor blasting or painted
* aftermarket turn signals with relay and switch and period-correct lens colors

Bike is not in showroom condition, but looks very good and was built to be ridden. Rides great, sounds great, and starts first kick. Also has a clean Pennsylvania title, a real rarity for bikes this old!

$4500

Please get in touch if interested, thanks!

Gone to Croatan...(actually Croatia)

Friends, the shop is going to be closed for a few weeks while Geoffrey tries to discover his sea legs sailing in Croatia. We will re-open on SEPTEMBER 6TH. We will not be checking our voicemail, and only sporadically checking email while the shop is closed, sorry about that. But we will be back at full swing in September. In the meantime, here's a few of the fun projects we've worked on this summer.

Shop full of bikes mid-season

All the nice new parts installed on a CB350:
Pamco ignition, Ricks' stator, VM30 carbs

Checking out the finished product:
"Is it faster?" "Yep"

Honda Aero 125 ready for its maiden voyage
1-year-only 2-stroke ripper

1965 Honda C200 - The mini Dream,
Oldest bike we've worked on so far